Anthony Ferrill and the 2020 Molson Coors Brewery Mass Shooting
The Milwaukee Brewery Attack
On February 26, 2020, Anthony Ferrill carried out a mass shooting at the Molson Coors Beverage Company brewery complex at 4100 West State Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ferrill, a 51-year-old electrician employed at the facility, entered a workplace building with firearms and deliberately shot several of his coworkers. Five employees were killed before Ferrill died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The attack occurred during the afternoon workday at the sprawling brewery campus, historically associated with the Miller Brewing Company. Hundreds of employees were working throughout the complex when gunfire was reported at approximately 2:10 p.m. The shooting triggered an immediate active-shooter response involving the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee Fire Department, federal agents and other emergency agencies.
Anthony Ferrill’s Employment at the Brewery
Anthony Ferrill was a longtime brewery employee who worked as an electrician. He had reportedly spent approximately 17 years at the Milwaukee facility and had more than two decades of electrical work experience. Coworkers described him as someone who was familiar with the buildings, maintenance areas and daily operations of the brewery campus.
Investigators learned that Ferrill had experienced workplace conflicts before the shooting. Reports indicated that he had a long-running dispute with at least one coworker and believed that other employees were interfering with his work or watching him. However, authorities did not establish a definitive motive explaining why he selected and murdered the five men.
In 2015, a noose was reportedly discovered inside Ferrill’s workplace locker. Molson Coors later acknowledged the incident and stated that it had been investigated at the time. Despite public speculation about whether racial harassment, workplace resentment or personal grievances contributed to the attack, police did not confirm that the locker incident was directly connected to the murders.
The Shooting on February 26, 2020
Ferrill arrived at the brewery for work on February 26, 2020. During the afternoon, he armed himself and began firing inside Building 4 of the Molson Coors complex. The building contained offices, workshops, utility spaces and areas used by electricians and other skilled employees.
Employees heard gunshots and began running, hiding or barricading themselves inside rooms. Emergency calls described an armed employee moving through the building. Molson Coors issued an internal alert warning workers that an active-shooter situation was underway and instructed employees to shelter in place.
Ferrill encountered and shot five male coworkers inside the facility. The victims ranged in age from 33 to 61. They were electricians, machinists, utility workers and other experienced brewery employees. No surviving gunshot victims were reported.
Police officers entered the enormous industrial campus while employees were still sheltering inside. Officers had to search multiple buildings and floors while determining the shooter’s location. Ferrill was eventually found dead near a second-floor stairwell in Building 4. Authorities determined that he had taken his own life after killing his coworkers.
Victims of the Molson Coors Shooting
- Dale Hudson, 60 – Killed on February 26, 2020, inside the Molson Coors brewery complex at 4100 West State Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hudson was a longtime brewery employee and was remembered by relatives and coworkers as a devoted family man.
- Gennady Levshetz, 61 – Killed on February 26, 2020, inside Building 4 of the Molson Coors brewery complex in Milwaukee. Levshetz was an experienced employee whose death deeply affected his family and workplace community.
- Jesus Valle Jr., 33 – Killed on February 26, 2020, at the Molson Coors brewery in Milwaukee. Valle was one of the two youngest victims and was remembered as a hardworking employee, husband, father and friend.
- Dana Walk, 57 – Killed on February 26, 2020, inside the brewery complex. Walk had worked at the facility for many years and was known among relatives and colleagues for his technical experience and dedication to his family.
- Trevor Wetselaar, 33 – Killed on February 26, 2020, at the Molson Coors brewery campus in Milwaukee. Wetselaar was an electrician and family man whose death left his relatives, friends and coworkers devastated.
Weapons and Evidence
Investigators recovered two semiautomatic pistols associated with Ferrill, including a .45-caliber Springfield XD(M) and a .40-caliber Walther P99C. Police also collected fired cartridge cases, firearms, ammunition and other physical evidence from the building.
Detectives interviewed surviving employees and reconstructed Ferrill’s movements through witness statements, emergency calls and evidence found inside the workplace. Witnesses described hearing a succession of gunshots and seeing frightened workers fleeing or seeking cover. Some employees remained locked inside offices and work areas for hours while officers cleared the campus.
Authorities searched Ferrill’s Milwaukee residence as part of the investigation. Investigators examined his personal history, firearms ownership, employment record and relationships with coworkers. No accomplice was identified, and the evidence indicated that Ferrill planned and carried out the murders alone.
The Emergency Response
The first reports of the shooting reached authorities shortly after 2:00 p.m. Milwaukee police treated the situation as an active and continuing threat. Numerous officers surrounded the brewery while tactical teams entered the property. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted local authorities.
Nearby schools and businesses were placed under security restrictions as officers searched for the gunman. Roads surrounding the brewery were closed, and family members gathered near the complex seeking information about employees who had been unable to contact them.
The size and industrial design of the brewery made the police operation especially difficult. The campus contained numerous buildings, corridors, stairwells and mechanical areas. Officers had to search each section while determining whether Ferrill was still moving through the property or whether additional shooters were involved.
After Ferrill was located dead, officers continued clearing the complex and escorting employees from their hiding places. Authorities later confirmed that six people were dead: the five employees murdered by Ferrill and Ferrill himself.
Investigation of a Possible Motive
The precise motive for the murders remained unresolved. Investigators considered Ferrill’s workplace conflicts, his relationships with the victims and his perception that coworkers had treated him unfairly. Some employees reported that Ferrill had accused a colleague of entering his home, moving furniture or monitoring him. The allegations were not substantiated.
Reports also described tensions involving work assignments and Ferrill’s belief that another employee was deliberately creating problems for him. Investigators found evidence of resentment and suspicion, but they did not publicly identify a single incident that directly triggered the attack.
Authorities found no evidence that the shooting was part of a larger conspiracy or organized extremist attack. Ferrill did not leave a publicly disclosed manifesto or clear explanation for murdering the five employees. The official motive therefore remained undetermined.
The Five Murdered Employees
The victims were experienced workers with families, friendships and long connections to the Milwaukee area. Molson Coors described the men as valued members of its company community. Their deaths affected not only their relatives but also hundreds of employees who had worked beside them inside the brewery.
Memorials were created to honor Dale Hudson, Gennady Levshetz, Jesus Valle Jr., Dana Walk and Trevor Wetselaar. Community members placed flowers, signs and other tributes near the brewery. Vigils and private services were held as Milwaukee mourned the five men.
Company officials suspended brewery operations following the attack and provided counseling and other assistance to employees. Workers later returned to a workplace marked by the loss of five colleagues and by the trauma of hiding from an armed coworker inside a familiar facility.
Aftermath and Legacy
The Molson Coors shooting became one of the deadliest workplace attacks in Wisconsin history. It renewed public attention on workplace violence, employee grievance procedures, firearm access and the warning signs that may precede targeted attacks.
Because Ferrill died at the scene, there was no arrest, criminal trial or opportunity for prosecutors to question him about his intentions. Investigators were left to reconstruct his motives from employment disputes, witness accounts, personal behavior and the physical evidence recovered after the killings.
The tragedy remains centered on the five employees whose lives were taken during an ordinary workday. Dale Hudson, Gennady Levshetz, Jesus Valle Jr., Dana Walk and Trevor Wetselaar went to the brewery on February 26, 2020, expecting to complete their jobs and return to their families. Instead, they were murdered by a longtime coworker in an act of workplace violence that left lasting grief throughout Milwaukee and the Molson Coors community.
